Uploading Guidelines

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This page represents official TMB policy or guidelines. Yarr!

Not everything written on this page is an unbreakable rule. There are times where it may be appropriate to ignore some guidelines, but if you're new to The Mixing Bowl you should probably follow them at all times until you've got a feel for the ethos of the site.

General Uploading Etiquette

  • There are over 4,000 members here with uploading privelidges. You are not more important than anyone else.
  • There are over 45,000 torrents in the database. Your upload is not more important than any other.
  • Don't immediately upload lots of torrents after becoming an uploader; you will probably cock things right up and create a mess. Take it easy and ask in the forums if you get stuck and if your answer isn't covered here.
  • Only upload 2 torrents at a time. Wait until they are well seeded by a few other people before you move onto more.
  • Name your torrent and folder to be uploaded according the the guidelines.
  • Please keep the scene crap to a minimum. By all means include the nfo with the upload, but don't copy and paste a screen full of indecipherable symbols and "shout-outs" into the torrent description.
  • CDs given away free with magazines are allowed to be upped, but only if the audio is mixed and then only once the next months magazine edition is out, ie once you can no longer purchase the magazine with the CD.
  • 'Tape Packs' are only allowed to be upped once they are over two years of age (from the event date). No exceptions.

The following action can be taken if an admin feels someone is uploading against the spirit of these guidelines :

  • Ban the individual torrent. You will not be allowed to upload the same mix again if this happens.
  • Demote the member back to standard member status. This means you will lose your uploading rights and also resident status if you had attained it.
  • Official Admin Warning for the member. Two of these and you are banned forever.
  • Ban the member.

Readers' Mixes Uploading Etiquette

  • The readers mixes section was created for members to get feedback on mixes they want to share.
  • All torrents in this section are ratio free to encourage people to download and give feedback to the member.
  • Don't upload more than 2 readers mixes a week, this forum is not your own.
  • Don't upload readers mixes to increase your ratio, eg with a bunch of playlisted autofaded tracks with no care or thought. You should upload because you want to get some feedback and share your creation!
  • Don't excessively bump/pimp your own mixes. Bumping one mix a few times is fine, but bumping your back catalogue in one go is not!
  • Blatant use of Artist name in titles is unacceptable if an admin feels it's only done to trick people into downloading.
  • Don't create a mix with just a new artist's album mixed in a different order than the official album; show the artist you are supposedly paying homage to some respect.

Please Note:

  • Everyone started somewhere and we strongly encourage people to share mixes they have created so some of these wordings are intentionally left vague.
  • The admin will make decisions on a case by case basis. If you don't agree with the decision that's fine but remember the rules, specifically: Do not defy the admins' expressed wishes.
  • If you feel someone is uploading against the spirit of the readers mix forum report Report Button the torrent stating why, and then please leave decisions to the admin team, ie no backseat moderation thank you!

To ensure every member gets fair exposure the following action can be taken if an admin feels someone is uploading against the spirit of this section :

  • Move torrent to the studio promo/anything else forum therefore removing the ratio free aspect of the torrent.
  • Ban the individual torrent. You will not be allowed to upload the same mix again if this happens.
  • Demote the member back to standard member status. This means you will lose your uploading rights and also resident status if you had attained it.
  • Official Admin Warning for the member. Two of these and you are banned forever.
  • Ban the member.

A State of Trance

  • The only duplicate MP3 upload allowed is the TMB HQ version.
    • So, if a rip from another source is uploaded first, a 'TMB HQ' version can still be uploaded. If the 'TMB HQ' version is uploaded first, then that is the only version allowed.
  • Strictly no discussions/comments about the merits of the rip quality in the torrent thread.
  • Any derogatory comments towards the upload/uploader will be deleted without warning/notification and the poster will be punished.
  • The only place we encourage discussion about the relative quality of ripping methods is in THIS one thread.

Torrent Naming Guidelines

Properly naming your torrent is very important. It makes the forum and torrent list much easier to view when there is a uniform list of names. So whilst naming of your files and folders is to some degree down to personal preference we are going to enforce the torrent naming guidelines.

The date must always be in the form YYYY-MM-DD, eg 2005-11-21 being the 21st of November 2005. Any other method can lead to confusion with the month and day.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example: EM = Essential Mix BB = Breezeblock AOO = Annie On One ES = Essential Selection BR = Blue Room AM = Annie Mac BTTB = Back To The Basics KISS = Kiss 100 JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions OW = One World SS = Solid Steel TR = The Residency

Radio Shows must be named %date%-%month%-%day% - %show title% - %artist%[ - %title][, %comment%] For example: 

2006-03-11 - EM - Pete Tong and Col Hamilton, Live at Lush Northern Ireland

Live sets must be named %artist% - %title% - %date%-%month%-%day% For example: 

Sander Kleinenberg - Live at Villa, Lima, Peru - 2006-02-22

Studio/Promo, Video and misc. Mixes must be named %artist% - %title% For example: 

Kutski - Back To The Oldskool

Readers mixes must be named %artist% - %title% (use your username as artist if you want people to remember what it was after downloading). For example: 

Wicked Lizard - Keep Prepared fo the Breaks Part II

For a megapack we either want the artist or radio show name followed by a usefull title. For example: 

Essential Mix - 2004 The Complete Year
Solid Steel 1999
DJ Yoda - Mixtape Collection


Torrent Tagging Guidelines

With the launch of TMBv2 the way in which torrents are named has changed. Our new tagging system introduces a far more flexible and powerful way of classifying your uploads.

Title

The title should be a very brief description of the torrent. This can be the name of the radio show, event or witty name for your Readers Mix. The title should not contain any artists names or genres. All extra details about and upload should be included in the description.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example:

  • EM = Essential Mix
  • BB = Breezeblock
  • AOO = Annie On One
  • ES = Essential Selection
  • BR = Blue Room
  • AM = Annie Mac
  • BTTB = Back To The Basics
  • KISS = Kiss 100
  • JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions
  • OW = One World
  • SS = Solid Steel
  • TR = The Residency

Good Titles

Clublife - EP 92

BTTB - Back to the Basics

Essential Mix - Live from Glastonbury

Bad Titles

Essential Mix - Sasha - MP3

Should only be 

Essential Mix

Sasha should be defined as an artist, MP3 specified as the codec and Essential Mix tag selected.


And another example 

Radio 1 Drum and Bass show with Fabio, Grooverider and High Contrast

Should be 

 Radio 1 Drum and Bass show

Fabio, Grooverider and High Contrast should be specified as artists.

Artists

Artists should be entered as a comma separated list. The site has an autocomplete function which will guess as you type the artist you are entering from the artists already in our database. 

High Contrast, Pendulum

The list of artists should not contain and or & unless they are part of the artists full name. Neither should they contain any special characters such as brackets (), pipes | or dashes -.

The following are incorrect; 

Sasha and Digweed

Cal Alex Vs Dreamgirl

and should be 

Sasha, Digweed

Cal Alex, Dreamgirl

Tags

Main Tags

Every upload requires at least on main tag specified. Main tags

Other Tags

The tagging system allows for

Examples

Essential Mix, Live DJ Mix, Glastonbury, Breakbeat, Drum and Bass

Live DJ Mix, Electro, Warehouse Project

Other Radio, Trance, AH.fm

Readers Mix, Techno, Abelton

Vids, Interview, Instructional

Vids, Documentary, House, 1990s

Codec

Select the encoding of the recording, for videos you can specify "Other".

Bitrate

When MP3 and MP2 codecs are selected you are required to specify the bitrate of the recording. Valid values are between 1-1500 and Lame switches such as V0, V1, V2 & VBR. For all other codecs the bitrate is not required however it can be added where appropriate.

Length

Specify the length of the recording in minutes. If you don't know or can't determine the time please enter an estimate.

Date

Three fields are provided to specify the date of a torrent; day, month and year. In the event that you do not know the full date of the torrent provide as much information as you can. The most basic date information required for every torrent is the year.

Description

The description field allows you to add extra information about the torrent, such as tracklisings, programme synopsis and artwork. A good description can greatly enhance an upload and make it much more appealing to downloaders.

It is highly recommended that the tracklist for mixes are added to the description if known.

How to attract more downloaders to your torrents

  • Name/Title your upload clearly & according to our guidelines.
  • Provide a good description including your method of capture if you are uploading a radio show or live set.
  • If you are uploading a CD learn how to rip with EAC and encode it correctly with the lame setting '-V 2 --vbr-new'.
  • Include a tracklist if at all possible (you can often find them by searching google).
  • Use sensible names for the folder and files to be uploaded.
  • If possible include a .cue sheet.
  • Seed it until there are a few other seeders.

Common mistakes made by new uploaders

  • SHOUTING IN YOUR TITLES.
  • @@>>!!??# or other useless characters in your title (aka ebay idiot syndrome).
  • Useless folder title (always include the artist name, mix title and date if it is a radio show or live dj set).
  • Useless info in the title, eg (OMG GREAT MIX!)
  • Including your username in the title, filename or main file tags (comment tag is ok)
  • CDs ripped with mediaplayer/itunes or other non gapless compliant applications.
  • Uploading a single mp3 instead of uploading inside a clearly named folder.
  • Uploading a mix then not seeding for a day (wait to upload if you can't seed for some time).
  • If you have 2 parts put them in a folder and upload as one, DO NOT upload 2 separate torrents
  • Forgetting to include the site .nfo file.
  • Incorrect choice of category or genre.

Important:

  • If you have made any of these mistakes and an admin notices it they will ban (remove) your torrent. If any other member thinks your torrent hasn't followed the uploading guidlines they can report Report Button it (which will bring it to the attention of the admin team). If you have already had uploads banned the admin may revoke your uploading privileges. It will be harder for you to regain your uploader status as you will have to demonstrate an understanding of the guidelines and a willingness to follow them.
  • If you have made these mistakes on any of your uploads don't panic. You can edit your own torrent including any of the details, you can also delete your own torrent. You should only delete your torrent if it can't be edited for example when you didn't upload inside a folder or had a useless filename, in this case you will need to make the corrections and upload again. To edit or delete a torrent view the torrent details (not the forum topic) and click [Edit this torrent].
  • If you see a torrent you feel isn't up to scratch you should report it using the link provided in the forum thread Report Button. You could tell the uploader in the thread if it is something easily fixable, like incorrect genre or category, but don't start any flaming with abusive comments!
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